Prof. Ferguson Publishes Article in The Atlantic on Commencement Speeches

Professor Andrew Ferguson published an article in The Atlantic calling on commencement speakers to urge their audience to vote, serve on juries, and run for political office.

Prof. Ferguson wrote, "Civic responsibility is the rub of citizenship. As President Obama candidly acknowledged in his commencement address to Ohio State University this month, borrowing themes from John F. Kennedy's famous inaugural, 'As citizens, we understand that it's not about what America can do for us. It's about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but absolutely necessary work of self-government.' It is not about changing the world in a boundless future, but engaging constitutional responsibilities in the grounded present.

The political responsibilities of voting, jury service, and participating in elective office are the basics of our constitutional order. If we are inspired by anything at graduations, we should be inspired to participate in these fundamental, if ordinary, constitutional duties."